By F. Scott Faulkner
Santa Barbara County, CA
Two Santa Maria residents were arrested in connection with an attempted robbery and
shooting last Friday at a farm outside Buellton, according to the Santa Barbara County
Sheriff’s Department.
At approximately 9:00 a.m. on the morning of September 20, , farmworkers at a property
along Highway 246, between Solvang and Buellton, were approached by a man and
woman who demanded money.
According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer
Raquel Zick, “When the workers refused, the pair returned to a white BMW sedan and
fired several shots at an unoccupied van parked nearby.” A 911 Emergency call for
service brought uniformed patrol deputies to the scene quickly. Upon arrival, deputies
discovered that the suspects had already “fled the scene.”
The immediately ensuing investigation led to the identification of Santa Maria residents
29-year-old Stephanie Solis Garcia and 43-year-old Jason Matthew Zepeda. After
further investigation over the next 48 hours, warrants were issued for their arrests.
Just before 1 a.m. on September 22, deputies located the pair in Ventura, still driving
the white BMW linked to the shooting. Garcia and Zepeda were taken into custody and
transported to Santa Barbara County Jail where they were charged with attempted
robbery, vandalism, negligent discharge of a firearm, and conspiracy, with their bail set
at $500,000 each.
